Church Apologies: Rites and Wrongs: A public workshop led by Dr. Jeremy Bergen
- Saturday, Jan. 24 at 9:30-11:30 am
Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 5020 Sherwood Drive, Regina
As churches in Canada and elsewhere address their own legacies of complicity—in residential schools, settler colonialism, racism and white supremacy, hatred or religiously motivated violence against other Christians—many are issuing public apologies as one step along paths of reconciliation. In this interactive workshop, we will explore this practice and consider the implications. What can apologies do? What are some dangers, objections, and challenges? And what do apologies by church leaders mean for Christians and local churches in the ongoing work of repair and reconciliation?
Dr. Jeremy Bergen is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Theological Studies at Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo. He has written on church apologies, martyrdom, ecclesiology, ecumenism, the Holy Spirit, and Mennonite theology, and is currently completing a book on Christian martyrdom and the unity of the church for Baylor University Press. He is the author of Ecclesial Repentance: The Churches Confront their Sinful Pasts (2011), and several articles on church apologies for residential schools in Canada. He is a member of the Faith & Life Commission of Mennonite World Conference and is co-editor of the Mennonite Quarterly Review.
This workshop is sponsored by the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism and the Archdiocese of Regina. For further information, contact Cathryn Wood, PCE executive director, at 306-653-1633 or [email protected]
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